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Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик; tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik), more commonly known as the USSR or Soviet Union, is a federation comprised of 26 Soviet republics. The foremost communist nation in global politics, the Soviet Union is a powerful country with a population of 393.1 million spread across 23.4 million kilometers of land across the globe, making it the largest nation in the world by land area, and third largest nation by population. Founded on the principles of equality for the masses, the Soviet Union was establised in 1922 during the Russian Revolution of 1917. The country grew slowly during its early days, though its growth was fuelled by industralization from the threat of conquest by Nazi Germany during World War II. During the Cold War, the Soviets where quick to establish themselves where ever they were welcomed, and ultimately brought these nations into its fold as Soviet republics driven to stave off Western imperialism. The Soviet Union today is a beast of a country, with citizens hailing from almost every part of the globe as they move to the Soviet Union in search of a better life. The union is determined to extend its grasp into North America following the collapse of the United States into civil war. Already Soviet troops have been deployed to the region to deal a death blow to its old enemy, and plans to do so to its most dangerous enemy, China. What future lays ahead of the nation is unknown, though to many Soviet politicians and citizens, it appears to be very bright. History Early History & Interwar Period The Soviet Union was established in 1922, following the end of the Russian Civil War, under the leadership of Vladimir Illich Lenin. The move came near the end of World War I as the Russian grew dissatified with the corrupt rule of the Russian Tzar Nicholas II, and the oppression life of the working man in Imperial Russia. The huge death tolls in the war against the Germans did not help to resolve these issues, and with the tzar's overthrow, a peace treaty with the Central Powers was quickly made. With their focuses on the war then removed, the Bolshevik forces moved to deal a blow to the White Russians, or those still loyal to the monarchy of Russia. The Western powers sent troops to aid them in fighting the Bolsheviks, knowing very well the danger the communist forces posed to the rest of the world. Ultimately, the war did not suceed in stopping the growth of Bolshevik power backed by popular opinion in Russia, and the Allied forces were removed. The Soviet Union's official establishment was proclaimed on 28 December 1922 by way of the Treaty of Creation, which labelled the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as the official succesor to the Russian Empire. At that, the Soviet Union began moving to rebuild and industrialize the country, all in line with keeping the promise made that Soviet Russia and the Communist idea would spread across the globe. Massive literacy campaigns, industrialization programs, agricultural and economic reforms, and military build-up marked the interwar years in the country. The political scene in the Soviet Union during that time was one of violent repression. With the death of Lenin in 1924 at the age of 53, his life claimed by a stroke, attempts were made by a certain forces to claim power after his death. Alexei Rykov suceeded Lenin as the head of state of the USSR, governing the country for four years. His rule was characterised by his attempts to keep Josef Stalin from rising to power, for Lenin had warned that Stalin was unfit to be ruler of the Soviet Union. However, Rykov was unable to maintain his grip on power, and was swiftly charged with treason in 1938, and executed shortly thereafter. Rise of Stalin & World War II The Cold War The Soviet Union Today Politics Government Foreign relations Military Economy Main article: Economy of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union today wields the most powerful centrally planned economy in the world. Following World War II, the Soviet Union had the fastest growing industrial economy, and had the fastest recovering infrastructure in the world, fuelled by its massive manpower and industrial powerhouse. The Five Year Plans that have allowed the Soviet Union to grow economically, are managed by the State Planning Committee, better known as the Gosplan. Gradiose public projects ensure that the majority of the population is employed, allowing for one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world. With careful management, inflation has been kept low, allowing the Soviet ruble to serve as the premier reserve currency of the world economy following the fall of America. The country enjoys high revenue and low maintainance costs, for which all of the Soviet republic benefit from. As the world's most industrialized nation, the union is able to remain highly self-sufficent, expecially regarding food production. Industrial capacity peaked in 2007, concurrent with the start of the Second American Civil War, and brought millions of unemployed Soviet citizens into the factories in search of jobs. After the Scare of 1991, industrial and economic facilities were swiftly modernized to allow the country to truely compete with the growing economies in East Asia and Western Europe. With the vast untapped resources of Siberia under better administration, the industrial has much fuel to drive its growth. Industry The main focus of the Soviet Union's economy is one industry. Over 65% of the population is employed in the industrial sector, though the sector only accounts for 30% of the national GDP. Fuelled by the demands of the military to allow for the expansion of the country, the defense industry plays a major role in the industrial sector of the economy. The country exports much of its manufactured goods, which had always been the goal of the industry in the union. The nation has remained the world's top arms exporter, selling its weapons and military vehicles to any nation with the money and the means to buy them. This has allowed the country's defense industry to come to the fore as the most important playing in the industrial sector. The aircraft industry is another major player in the economy, with the United Aircraft Corporation members such as Suhkoi and Mikoyan serving as the aircraft industry's largest contributors. The production of military and civilian aircraft for not just the Soviet Union, but many nations around the world in general, have allowed production in the country to grow to record heights. Plans to expand the industries to increase employment and economic growth in the other Soviet republics have permitted the core of the Soviet Union to grow a strong link with its Soviet republics, and keep them together as a powerful international force. Agriculture The Soviet Union is one of the most fertile nations in the world, producing most of the world's food supply. The Black Belt stretching across Ukraine to eastern Siberia produces most of the cereal crops of the country. Other crops such as wheat, rice, corn, barley, and millet also fuel the agricultural industry of the union. Though only 14% of the population is engaged in the field of agriculture, the sector provides close to 25% of the overall nation GDP. In 1986, collectivism of farmland was abolished, given the extrodinary failure of that system in maintain food supplies for the entire country. With permitted system of ownership of the land, food production increased dramatically, and effectively destroyed the need for the union to import grain from the United States. Natural Resources The country is a resource-laden state, with most the resources found the the Russian SSR. Nearly every imaginable resource can be found in Siberia alone, not accounting for the rest of the country, or even the smaller republics of the Soviet Union. The oil-producing Soviet republics like Hungary, Russia, Romania, and Georgia keeping the petroleum prices in the country low, while cheap iron ore and natural gas are extracted from Siberia. Raw materials such as timber, gold, lead, zinc, nickel, mercury, potash, phosphates can all be found in the Soviet Union is vast amounts, and such reserves have been the cause of the country's enormous industrial infastructure. Mineral imports are pratically non-existant, and this has been the most powerful source of the nation's self-sufficency. One can find fossil fuels in vast abundance, of which the Soviet Union actually has more of than it truely needs to sustain its economic expansion. Thus, the Soviet Union has become the world's largest exporter of fossil fuels, with Saudi Arabia following at a far distant second place. With so many resources at its disposal, limitless busniess opprotunities have attracted economists from around the globe to the union to deal with the economic growth anyone can benefit from. Demographics Culture Category:Union of Soviet Socialist Republics